


Sunny Days of Hide and Seek

by defrostedwang



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Freedom Fighters, Gen, Grief, Jet (avatar) is a good big brother, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Other, Y'all gotta think about the freedom fighters more, but the character that dies isn't canon, click away, don't worry no creepy stuff, just me making Jet sad, only read if you want your heart broken, so if that disturbs you, the death is a major part of the story, this is about a kid dying fair warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defrostedwang/pseuds/defrostedwang
Summary: The life of a Freedom Fighter is a dangerous one to lead. It’s a life of fear and adrenaline, where you have to fight for the right to every breath you take. Sometimes, the payoff is worth it. The glory after a triumph in battle, having your name chanted by your comrades, and the knowledge that you’ve hurt the Fire Nation yet again is a glorious feeling.But beneath the ash and dirt, there’s one thing all the Freedom Fighters have in common: they’re all just kids.That makes a loss that much harder.Jet comforts a fighter in her last, painful moments.
Relationships: Jet (Avatar) & Original Characters
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Sunny Days of Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, this is my last warning, a kid dies in this fic. It's emotional, too.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at @defrostedwang where I regularly post about Jet and his kids, and to find works I publish before they get to ao3.

It was dark, but the night was pretty and the moon shone through the gaps between the slats of wood in the walls and the straw that made up the roof. Jet was grateful for the pretty sights. It made it easier to stay awake, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Skink was curled up in the corner, despite the others advising otherwise.

_ “You can’t heal like that,”  _ Smellerbee had scolded while she watched over her, slapping her hand gently while Longshot looked on with a sorry expression.

_ "Straighten out,”  _ Sneers had said softly, wrapping her wounds,  _ “Or I can’t take care of this. And I’m not wrestling with you over it.” _

His voice was more doting and kind, Smellerbee’s was the grating tone of a well-meaning mother- it was strange that he could reasonably compare a twelve-year-old girl to a mother, but he could. He knew they both had the best of intentions in bugging her about it, but he also knew it was all out a place of hope that she could get better in the first place…

And Jet knew she wouldn’t.

It was a damn shame. She was little. Only about eight, no older.

She had insisted on coming along that day.

_ “I know I’m ready! You taught me!” _

Jet had laughed and pulled her cap down over her eyes.

And then he had said yes.

How fucking  _ stupid _ could he be?

He hung his head in shame, rubbing his eyes, trying to fend off exhaustion.

3 days, he had stayed up all night, getting his rest in the morning. 3 nights he had stayed with Skink, making sure she was okay.

Well… Okay was a stretch.

3 nights he had stayed with Skink, making sure she was still alive when he left and somebody else could take over.

3 nights he had listened to her soft little whimpers and wiped her tears. 3 nights he had made note of when her bandage was soaked, knowing they were running out. 3 nights he had brought extra dinner for her, only for it to be ignored.

3 days where Jet had to live with the knowledge that she wasn’t going to make it, knowing he had promised he would protect her.

He could only imagine how she felt.

Her breathing was soft, shaky, but not erratic… no panic. That was good. He didn’t want her to be afraid. He already had enough fear for both of them.

Jet continued to look away, out the doorway, out the holes in the wall, anything to distract him. But then, she woke up. Jet could feel her looking at him. She hadn’t done that for 3 days.

“Jet?” She croaked. She sounded tired. But more than that, she sounded like she was in pain. A lot of pain.

Jet looked back at her and crossed his legs.

“Yeah?”

She shrugged. “Making sure it was you.”

Jet nodded. “Alright. How do you feel?”

“Not good,” she said, her voice husky and quiet.

He didn’t expect anything else.

She cleared her throat a few times. Then Jet saw her sit up, wincing in pain, and scoot over to him.

“Whoa, hey…” he said, reaching over to support her. “Let me know before you move, okay? I can help you. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

Skink bit her lip and then nodded, looking down as she leaned on Jet’s shoulder.

“Jet?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for staying with me.”

Jet didn’t really know what to say. He was  _ thinking _ about how he had to anyway, because it was definitely his fault she was hurt. But he couldn’t say that, who would?

“I-... it’s no problem, Skink. Anytime,” he said, forcing a soft little smile.

Skink closed her eyes. “I miss my mom.”

Jet sighed. “We all do,” He said, touseling her hair.

“I know. But I’m just thinking about her.”

“Fair. Do you want to talk about her?”

Skink nodded. She always wanted to talk about anything and everything.

“She was really pretty. She had really dark, really long hair.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And she was fun. When dad was working, she would take me to a spot with a big tree and some big rocks around it. She said she used to climb on the rocks when she was a kid, but she didn’t let me. She said I would get hurt.”

“And you never got to?”

“No. I wish I did. She said I would someday.”

Jet swallowed.

“Maybe you will.”

Skink paused… and then shrugged.

“Even if I don’t… I still like thinking about the tree. And my mom.”

Jet closed his eyes and tried to stop himself from choking up when he replied again.

“What did you do at the tree?”

“Mom and I would play tag sometimes. She was faster than me, but she would trip and fall sometimes, so it was fair.”

“Right.” Jet smiled. Well, at least he knew the mom was cool enough to let her daughter win.

“Yeah. And sometimes we would play hide and seek in the other trees there.”

“Was it a good place to hide?”

“Not like this place. But it was really fun.”

“Good. Maybe we should play sometime.”

Again, Skink was quiet for a moment.

“Even if we don’t, we had fun playing hide and seek here.”

Jet swallowed again, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat.

“Yeah. We did. You’re the sneakiest, though. So I don’t think it’s fair for you to say it’s your favorite,” Jet said, nudging her shoulder playfully.

Skink laughed softly, trying not to disturb her injury.

“I’m sorry for being the best.”

“You’re not sorry at all. I know you, Skink.”

Skink closed her eyes and cuddled up.

“I’m cold, Jet.”

Jet held her and ran a hand through her soft hair. She seemed to stop shivering as much.

He couldn’t really hold back anymore, and he finally let a few tears roll down his cheeks, thankful that she couldn’t see them.

“I’m sorry you got hurt, Skink.”

“It’s alright, you didn’t mean it,” She mumbled.

“It’s not alright with me.”

“Well, you didn’t get hurt. It doesn’t matter if it’s alright with you.”

_ Fair. _

“Someday we’ll go see that tree again,” He said, though the promise was empty. “We’ll track it down and we’ll play hide and seek, just like you remember.”

“No,” She finally said. “That was my mom’s spot. We already have a tree.”

“But-”

“ _ I’m tired, _ Jet.”

Right. Who was he to stop a dying girl from sleeping?

He shut up, sliding down the wall a bit so they were a bit more comfortable.

“Alright. Goodnight, Skink.”

“‘Night, Jet. Thanks for keeping me safe.”

Jet rubbed her back until he felt her breathing even out again.

Then, finally, it became more and more shallow, until it was barely there at all.

When it stopped, Jet didn’t really know what to feel. He just… He just held her and wept.

He wished they’d found that tree. She deserved to see it one more time.

But as she had said… they already had one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment below or check out my tumblr if you have any ideas for me, I was thinking about writing more Freedom Fighter stuff because we do not have enough content for them.
> 
> No Jet slander, please. I will go bananas


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